Agency-listedUSFS Tongass National Forest -- Ketchikan-Misty Fjords Ranger District · dispersedFreeOpen today

Punchbowl Lake Shelter (Misty Fjords National Monument)

Dispersed · public land · AK · 55.52799, -130.76064
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The land manager lists this site. Someone from the agency inventoried it, so it is a real camp — not a spot we guessed at. What changes is conditions — roads, gates, closures, fire rules. Check those with the unit before you commit to the drive.
Can I go now? — Punchbowl Lake Shelter (Misty Fjords National Monument) · public land · AK
Open today Year-round per the agency record.
public land record: “Year Round” Read against the calendar on 2026-09-17; with JavaScript your browser re-checks it against today.
USGS topo — contours & terrain
USGS topographic map of Punchbowl Lake Shelter (Misty Fjords National Monument)
Aerial — USGS / NAIP
Aerial image of Punchbowl Lake Shelter (Misty Fjords National Monument)
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Weather outlook — at Punchbowl Lake Shelter (Misty Fjords National Monument)
Loading the latest forecast…
Live NWS area forecast (~2.5 km grid, not elevation-corrected). Camp sits at 766 ft.
Fire & smoke — around Punchbowl Lake Shelter (Misty Fjords National Monument)NIFC · AirNow
Checking active fires & air quality…
Active wildfires from NIFC (within ~50 mi); air quality from AirNow. Always confirm current fire restrictions with the managing office before you go.

Everything you need — measured from Punchbowl Lake Shelter (Misty Fjords National Monument) · public land · AK

15 MI30 MI60 MIYOUR CAMPN ↑Water · 37 miWSouth Tongass Services · Fuel · 36 miFKetchikan Dry Goods · Grocery · 37 miGIsland Pharmacy · Pharmacy · 38 miRxMadison Lumber & Harware - True Value · Hardware · 38 miHUrgent care · 36 mi+United States Post Office · Mail · 38 mi@
Straight-line miles · bearings approx · roads run longer
Nearest of each
  • FFuel36 mi
  • +Urgent care36 mi
  • GGrocery37 mi
  • WWater37 mi
  • HHardware38 mi
  • RxPharmacy38 mi
  • @Mail38 mi
≤30 mi30–4545+water

The read: water is a real 37-mi drive, fuel & food sit about 36 mi out, no EV fast charger is listed within 150 mi.

Not within 60 mi: Dump, Propane. Plan those before you head up.

EV fast charger: none listed within 150 straight-line mi (US DOE data). Charge before the turn-off.

One dot per need — the nearest of each kind, straight-line from camp. Places from OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors); the EV fast charger from the US DOE station locator. Open in Google Maps ↗

The site — Punchbowl Lake Shelter (Misty Fjords National Monument)

Access
Dispersed
Land
public land · dispersed
Elevation
766 ft
State
AK
Coordinates
55.52799, -130.76064
Cost
Free

Nearby & resupply — around Punchbowl Lake Shelter (Misty Fjords National Monument) · public land · AK (OpenStreetMap)

  • Resupply lookup unavailable — try the map links below.

EV charging — from Punchbowl Lake Shelter (Misty Fjords National Monument) · public land · AK — nearest public DC fast & Level 2 (US DOE station data)

Nearby restrooms — around Punchbowl Lake Shelter (Misty Fjords National Monument) · public land · AK — pit toilets, restrooms & rest areas (government data)

Open Punchbowl Lake Shelter (Misty Fjords National Monument) elsewhere

Other camps near Punchbowl Lake Shelter (Misty Fjords National Monument)

If this one is full, gated or washed out.

How we know this — Punchbowl Lake Shelter (Misty Fjords National Monument)

Open season
Year Round
Stay limit
None published
Source
public land records
Confidence
Agency-confirmed — The managing agency's own record names this as a campsite and puts it at these coordinates. About as good as it gets short of standing here.
How it was placed
https://www.fs.usda.gov/r10/tongass/recreation/punchbowl-lake-shelter-site (read 2026-08-17). Fee field reads: "Free". Season: "Year Round". A three-sided shelter at the end of the Punchbowl Lake trail in Misty Fjords -- steep granite cliffs, glacially-carved valleys, dense rainforest. Punchbowl Cove is near the mouth of Rudyerd Bay, which branches east off Behm Canal; access is by boat or float plane and there is a MOORING BUOY in the cove. Two toilets. Popular destination -- expect company. No stay limit stated. Restrooms: Two toilets. Water: the page states plainly that potable water is not available at this site. Nearest town/access per the page: Ketchikan -- access by boat or float plane only, via Rudyerd Bay off Behm Canal. | auto:agency-trust 2026-08-18: state agency GIS record with a source URL and coordinates, confidence not low. Fee value is the agency's own, not field-checked. Not field-verified -- confirm access, road conditions and fire rules before you go.
Season
Read from the agency's own season / closure text in this record (data/conditions.py) and checked against the calendar. The words we read are printed under the verdict at the top of the page.
EV chargers
US DOE Alternative Fuels Data Center station locator, snapshot 2026-09-16. Straight-line miles to the nearest public, open, unrestricted station; restricted and planned units are shown but never counted.
Field check
On the agency's books. The land manager inventoried this site, so its existence is not in question — current conditions are. Nobody from here has camped it recently.

What we don’t know about Punchbowl Lake Shelter (Misty Fjords National Monument)

A land record can put you within a few metres of a spot. It cannot tell you any of this — so check it yourself, and treat anything below as the open question it is.

Before you go — Punchbowl Lake Shelter (Misty Fjords National Monument)

Been here? Tell us what changed. This page is built from public records, so the fastest way it gets better is somebody who has actually pulled in. Road washed out, site gone, gate locked, or it is exactly as described — all of it useful. Send a report →